


wandered through the trees

by interstellarbeams



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Action & Romance, F/M, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Hurt Lucy Preston, Kidnapping, Pre-BAMF Lucy Preston, Rescue Missions, Reunions, mentions of Garcia Flynn, mentions of Jiya Marri, mentions of Rufus Carlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 17:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14899121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellarbeams/pseuds/interstellarbeams
Summary: Lucy escapes her captors and finds help along the way.





	wandered through the trees

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Nikki (CSM) and Kinsey (Wyattsshoulderholsters) for all of their help on this fic. <3
> 
> I wrote this fic for me because I wanted to but I also wanted it to be a fun read for y’all. I hope everyone likes it especially you Hollie. ;)
> 
> Title is from _She Lit A Fire_ by Lord Huron 
> 
> Sentence prompt: “She brushed her skirt, took a deep breath and walked towards him.”

She expected to hear gunshots, shouts of warning, the sharp bite of a bullet to her extremities from her captors for attempting escape but none of those things came.

Her heart pounded in her ears and her breath came harsh, her throat burning as she continued to run. The branching tree limbs heavy with fruit protected her from most of the rain but the wind blowing through the orchard set goosebumps to forming on her arms.

The sharp crack of a branch snapping underfoot echoes in the quiet dawn and Lucy stops, every sense tuned to the fading sound. Where had it come from? Certainly Emma’s goons weren’t so stupid that they would announce their presence to their quarry. _It was just the sound of it hitting the ground, probably the rain and wind dislodged it,_ she tried to tell herself as she took a few more tentative steps, no longer running for her life but wary, like a hunted hare.

Another crack, this one closer, sets her nerves on edge and she blows out a quiet breath in an attempt to dispel it along with the swarm of bees in her stomach. A drop of sweat trickles down the back of her neck and she presses her hand to her throbbing ribs. She grips her skirts in tight fists, her fingers cramping painfully from the tension but her fight or flight instinct is what has kept her alive this long and she doesn’t plan on ignoring it now.

A shadow moves in the mist in front of her and she squints against the gloom and the rain dripping from the strands of hair that have escaped her braid. The figure moves closer and she ducks down near the base of one of the apple trees, hoping that the rain and the sparse coverage of the tree trunk will shield her. 

The dampness of the ground seeps into her skirt, making her knees clammy and another shiver runs through her. _Keep walking_ , she thinks, desperately, _there’s nobody here, you’re mistaken_ , like she’s using a Jedi mind trick. Of course, she would think about something silly in a serious moment like this but it reminds her of Rufus and how worried he and Jiya must be. _Please, please, please_ , she prays, not even sure if anyone can hear her but hoping that it’s the thought that counts. 

She catches the movement of the shadowy figure out of her peripheral vision and almost jumps from shock. Pressing her cheek against the rough bark of the tree, she tries not to move a muscle.

The man, well she assumes he’s a man, because she doesn’t see a skirt, moves stealthily. His movements are calm and measured, his head held high and she assumes he has laser focus because he hasn’t given up. _This guy’s stubborn_ , she thinks to herself, _Why doesn’t he give up?_ when a lightbulb goes off. 

_Wyatt?_

She wants to shout it, she’s so relieved to finally see a welcome and familiar person — Emma and Jessica are way _too_ familiar to her now, she really hates the smirk that Jessica gives her every time she sees her like she’s still reveling in the fact that she tricked them all so spectacularly — someone who will actually help her and isn’t out to kill her, kidnap her or emotionally torment her. 

_Is_ it him though? Or has she just been craving his presence so long, here with her, that she’s imagining things. She hadn’t felt like she had been with them that long in the old rundown barn amongst the rusted, forgotten farm equipment and bushel baskets but it hadn’t felt as interminable as the six weeks she had spent with her mother being indoctrinated into their pure lineage cult. 

He hadn’t even been on the mission when she had been captured. Denise and Connor had decided that now was as good a time as any to begin to train for their pilot licenses and Wyatt had drawn the short straw, literally. When she, Wyatt and Flynn had been approached, no one had really wanted to stay behind, they felt like the mission was too important to skip but with only four seats in the Lifeboat someone had to stay behind so Denise whipped out the drinking straws and had them choose. 

She had thought it was a little juvenile but what else could they have done, rock paper scissors only worked between two people. Shaking herself mentally, Lucy drew her attention back to the dark grey form in the light gray mist, she closed her eyes for just a second, trying to calm her fiercely beating heart. Steeling herself for further flight if she was wrong and it wasn’t her Wyatt but one of Rittenhouse’s hired men.

She brushed her skirt, took a deep breath and walked towards him.

Her first few steps were tentative and careful, like a fawn getting used to it’s legs, but then she’s running because he’s turning away like he’s given up and he can’t leave her here. 

“Wyatt!” She finally calls, her voice cracking from misuse. Fear of him leaving her here, alone, overcoming her fear of being discovered and she can’t hold it in anymore. He has always come for her, whenever possible, so why not now? 

The figure stops and an irrational hope fills her chest, maybe it is him, he’s here and she can finally go home.

The morning mist obscures her view of the ground, not that she was even paying attention to what was below her, only ahead but she trips on a root, an involuntary yelp escaping her as she hits the ground.

“Lucy?” Comes his voice through the mist and she almost weeps at the sound of it, the familiar sound of his concern seeping through his cry and enveloping her like a warm hug.

She gasps, tears leaking down her face, when his warm palms grasp her arms and his concerned blue eyes are intent on  
her face and then shift over the rest of her, searching for injuries.

She can’t take her eyes off him, hardly even feeling the sting of her scraped palms, until he’s lifting them to check them over and her attention is diverted.

She hisses through her teeth when the rain, that has begun to come down harder, hits the damaged skin.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, his head bent over her hands, his eyes shielded from hers.

The sound of thunder echoes distantly but her entire being is focused on him as he lifts her injured palms to his lips. She pulls her hands from his gingerly but then she’s placing them on his cheeks and bringing his mouth to hers. His lips are cool and wet, not warm like she is used to, but so are hers. The scent of him surrounds her along with the overripe fallen fruit scattered on the ground around them. 

They both pull away, exhaling in relief, their foreheads pressed together, the quiet patter of raindrops a quiet rustle in the background.

“God, I thought I’d lost you again,” Wyatt admitted, quietly.

“I can’t believe Rittenhouse abducted me again,” Lucy replied, with a wry smile, her thumb ghosting over his cheek where a new bruise formed.

“What happened?” 

“I got a little too forceful with Rufus when they came back without you so uh— Jiya, straightened me out,” Wyatt admitted, sheepishly, with a half shrug.

Lucy was not surprised that Jiya would stick up for Rufus but to actually get a punch by the special ops soldier was something else entirely.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, she packs a pretty good wallop for someone who spends most of her time working on computers and playing video games.” Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck, self consciously, the raucous call of a black bird causing him to tense with sharpened focus.

“We should probably get out of here, we don’t know who’s out here with us.”

Lucy nods in acceptance, taking his hand as he stands to help her to her feet. 

“I guess I won’t be wearing this one again,” Lucy quietly chuckles, staring down at the long rip in the skirt.

Wyatt smiles down at her softly before pulling her along. He removes his modern gun from the waistband of his pants as they slowly make their way through the trees, his eyes intent on their surroundings while she focuses on every step, determined not to trip again. 

She doesn’t know how far the Lifeboat is but she’s so exhausted and her skirt, wet with rain and mud, is dragging her down. 

The line of apple trees on both sides of them end abruptly at a wooden fence and in the distance she sees a vague shape that could be the Lifeboat and she sighs in relief. 

A branch snaps behind them and they turn around to find Emma standing there, weapon drawn. Lucy grips Wyatt’s hand tightly but he doesn’t seem to notice, his whole body tensing up at the sight of their enemy.

Wyatt shifted his weight, taking more of a defensive stance, turning his body so that he presented a better target than Lucy’s smaller one. She knew that he was doing what he thought was best by protecting her but she didn’t want him in harm's way either. She kept her disquiet to herself, instead keeping her eye on the dangerous redhead in front of her.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the jailbait princess and her knight in shining tac gear,” Emma sniped, strolling out from behind a large and apparently very old apple tree.

“I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here and at the center of all this. Fitting that you’re coming out of the shadows,” Wyatt practically growled back at her.

 

“A girl’s gotta try her best at what she’s good at it,” Emma replied, a wicked smirk lifting the corner of her mouth.

“What did you think you were going to accomplish by kidnapping Lucy again?” 

“Oh, you know, _this_ and _that_ ,” Emma brushed down her skirt, picking off pieces of wet grass, acting as if she didn’t have a care in the world while Wyatt still had his weapon drawn and pointed straight at her.

“Can we get on with this? I’d love to stand here and exchange pleasantries all day but this is actually rather tedious.” 

Emma barked out a short laugh before pinning them with a impenetrable green-eyed stare. 

“You really are precious princess, waiting for your prince charming to come save you,” Emma snarked, eyeing Lucy with an unimpressed look.

Lucy rolled her eyes but kept quiet, hoping that Emma would fall into the monologuing villain trap, although she was probably too smart for that.

A gunshot reverberated in the silence, making them all jump and sending wood chips flying off the tree closest to them Lucy and Wyatt dropped to the ground, immediately. Wyatt’s arm went around Lucy protectively as he held his gun aloft, searching the surrounding area for the source of the gunshot.

“ _Jessica_ ,” Lucy whispered, seeing her blonde hair and the lavender of her skirt out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed onto Wyatt’s other arm as he tried to go after her, shaking her head.

“I’ve got her. You focus on Emma. I’ll be okay,” she reassured him when he frowned at her, unease clouding his features. He nodded in agreement, trust shining out through his eyes before he reached over and kissed her on the forehead. Turning he faced Emma, who was also crouched down, pressed against a tree, fury radiating from her as she glared after her fellow kidnapper. 

Lucy watched Emma warily before stepping backward a step and then whirling around to chase after Jessica.

She spotted a tree branch, about two feet long and an inch thick, that she hoped wasn’t too rotten to be effective and snatched it up as she followed the other Rittenhouse agent.

Jessica’s purple dress was easy to see against the gray, browns and greens of the orchard’s trees so Lucy was able to follow her quite well despite the cumbersome skirt that weighed her down from all the moisture it had accumulated.

She debated on calling out her name and drawing attention to herself but decided against it. The other woman still had a gun and Lucy’s only weapon was a branch.

Jessica slowed down after a few moments, stopping to brace herself against a tree while Lucy slowly snuck up on her. 

“Hey!” She yelled, satisfied to see the shocked look on Jessica’s face when she turned around before she hit her with the branch. 

Lucy stood over her watching her chest moving for a few moments, satisfied that she was knocked out and momentarily out of commission, she turned and ran back the way she had come and towards the clearing where she had left Wyatt.

The silence was interrupted by another gunshot and she started running.

“Wyatt!” Lucy called, on her haste almost running past the clearing.

“Lucy, _Lucy_! I’m fine, I’m right here,” Wyatt smoothed his hands down Lucy’s arms, smiling at her reassuringly before bending to pick up the shell casings from his modern gun. 

“Jessica?” He asked, when he stood back up, pocketing the brass.

“I might have hit her with a tree branch. Knocked her unconscious,” Lucy shrugged nonchalantly.

Wyatt huffed out a laugh, “We definitely need to work on your self defense skills.” 

“It worked, didn’t it?” Lucy swayed into him, tired beyond belief. 

His arm went around her waist immediately, supporting her as they made their way to the Lifeboat. 

“What happened with Emma?” Lucy asked, turning to look behind them but failing to catch a glimpse of the redhead.

“Eh, she got a shot off but once she realized that she missed, she fled. She’ll love to fight another day, just like the cockroach she is.”

Lucy made a face at the mention of cockroaches and Wyatt smiled down at her, fondly.

“Wait,” Lucy stopped, looking around the field where the time machine sat. “Did you come by yourself? Where’s Rufus and Jiya?”

“Uh, well I may have taken it out without permission. I might be in a lot of trouble once we get back,” Wyatt stared down at her, his blue eyesbright with relief. 

“You’re lucky I still have some pull with Agent Christopher,” Lucy teased, stopping in her tracks to look up at him.

“Lucky for me that I came to save you then and not one of the others,” Wyatt joked back, his fingers tightening on Lucy’s waist.

Lucy stared up at him for a moment, gratefulness and love filling up her chest, like water overflowing the banks of a river. She pulled him closer, stretching up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

Wyatt’s eyes darkened as he gleaned the direction of her thoughts. He leaned closer and Lucy closed her eyes. Just as there lips were about to touch, a loud thunderclap made them jump apart.

“Seriously?” Wyatt glanced up at the darkened sky, the thunder continuing to rumble ominously. 

“Ignore it,” Lucy murmured, pressing her lips to his and clinging to him persistently. Wyatt tilted her head, his calloused palms warm on her cheeks despite the chill in the air as he deepened the kiss. 

Relief and joy suffused their reunion and Lucy smiled into the kiss, her hands going to his neck, the wool of his coat scratching against her fingers.

The rain, that had been lightly misting all morning increased suddenly, big fat raindrops hitting them and then the heavens opened and rain started pouring down.

Lucy shrieked trying to shield herself with her arms but without an umbrella or a roof over their heads, it was unavoidable.

She dropped her arms and lifted her face to the rain instead. Wyatt snuck a quick kiss while her eyes were closed, surprising Lucy.

“Come on!” Wyatt shouted.

“ _Wyatt_ ,” Lucy laughed, as Wyatt pulled her by the hand towards the Lifeboat and then home.


End file.
